Specialized computer systems are becoming more widespread. These computer systems are often referred to as appliances. Generally, these computer systems have a processor and a means of communicating with a user. A system may become corrupted by use over time, by downloading data that corrupts it, or for another reason. Furthermore, some devices are rented or leased. In either situation, the device should be reset, from its current state to an original state.
Typically, the end-user would have access to some form of mass-media peripheral like a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Zip Disk, etc. that may be used as a backup storage medium for a default factory image (DFI). Alternatively, the user may be able to fix the device using a network connection. The ability to reset the appliance to a DFI state becomes much more difficult when it is sealed without mass-media peripheral data resources. The ability to restore the appliance to a DFI state cannot depend upon network connectivity, since network connectivity may not be reliable. This compounds the problem because the end-user must have a way to initialize the process of restoring the DFI. For one embodiment, the only control points dedicated to the initialization of this functionality are those available via direct physical access to the appliance.
Backup and restore software, available from many vendors for many platforms. This software specializes in maintaining periodic xe2x80x9csnapshotsxe2x80x9d of an already-installed and functional system. Backup software typically relies on an external storage medium to store the archived data, and restore software usually requires specialized agent software to manage the restoration process. There is no guarantee that the specific methods of restoring through this software will produce a system that boots and loads exactly as it did when it came from the factory.
One prior art mechanism of solving these types of problems in standard backup and restore software is using image-ghosting software. This software requires a very large media caching footprint, a peripheral storage device for installation, and a DOS based installation target for real-mode ghosting activities. This makes the solution prohibitively expensive for many uses.
Another prior art mechanism for solving this problem is remote installation software. This disaster recovery implementation requires network connectivity and Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) hardware supported boot functionality or similar Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) support. However, this solution cannot be used in a system that has been significantly damaged or where network connectivity is sporadic.